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Duchnowski: This Stanley's at home in DeKalb

June 26, 2013

Was it a coincidence that the Daily Chronicle posted a Pet of the Week video about a dog named Stanley the same day the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup?

Yes, pure coincidence.

We posted the video (as we do every Monday) at midday. Who could have predicted that, hours later, the Blackhawks’ Dave Bolland would score the winning goal just 17 seconds after his teammate Bryan Bickell tied up the score in Boston?

Not me.

But, Stanley, an 8-month-old retriever/Labrador mix, had a life-altering experience of a much smaller scale Tuesday. Stanley came to TAILS Humane Society from an out-of-state shelter in October and then was bounced to a foster family and an adoptive family who brought him back.

He’s a lot of puppy: He’s high energy and a little mouthy. When he gets really excited, he tinkles on the floor, TAILS’ animal care manager Adrienne Beeman said.

A friend forwarded Dave Fell of DeKalb and his family our video of Stanley, so Fell and his 5½-year-old daughter, Molly, brought their 10-year-old yellow Labrador, Bailey, to meet Stanley. The family had been looking for another dog since their 14-year-old black Labrador died in the spring.

Molly Fell was a little tentative about Stanley, as she is about most animals, but her older sister, Anna, 7, rides horses and fears few animals, Dave Fell said. She wasn’t able to join the family to visit TAILS, but was adamant about greeting a new family member.

“She said: ‘When I come home, I better have that puppy,’ ” David Fell said.

And it was so. The Fells took Stanley home Tuesday afternoon, intending to run him around the yard as much as possible before the predicted rain hit.

Dave Fell expected they’d keep his name.

“It’s kind of appropriate, right?,” he said. “And, I am a fan.”

Check out Pet of the Week: Each week, with help from Beeman, Daily Chronicle web producer John Sahly meets a cat or dog at TAILS, 2250 Barber Greene Road, DeKalb, and I narrate the video. The video typically is posted at www.Daily-Chronicle.com by Monday afternoon and, we hope, helps the pet find a loving, happy home. You can find out more about TAILS at www.TailsHumaneSociety.org.

Add two to your reading list: You may remember that last week in this column I listed several summer reading picks from DeKalb County residents, among others. After the column ran, Barry Leonard of DeKalb emailed me with two suggestions: “Evil” by Lance Morrow, and “World War II for Dummies” by Keith Dickson.

The first, he said, is “a realistic view of the human factor, removing the veil that ‘it’s all good,’ ” while the second is “a great summary of the war that made us who we are today.” Thanks for writing, Barry!